My Jacob
by dearjae
Summary: What if Bella had never jumped off the cliff.  What if a single different moment changed everything between her and Jacob.  What if Jacob got the opportunity to heal the wound that Edward left on Bella's heart.
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

**********Bella***********

I stood there at the very edge of the cliff waiting to hear the voice I craved. I stepped back preparing to throw myself forward when I heard it.

"Bella! Stop! You promised."

It was wrong though. It wasn't the velvety smooth voice of my delusions, it was the very real husky voice of someone else. Jacob. I tried to think quickly. Should I jump anyway? Would Edwards voice still reach me though our moment had been interrupted? I went for it, taking the last step of earth between me and the air, hurling my body with all my might- but warm strong hands grabbed me around my torso and yanked me back to the world.

"Jacob, let me go! I want to!"

"Bella, what the hell is wrong with you? I told you I would do this with you! You promised you would wait to do it with me, why would you even think about going by yourself? Haven't you noticed how rough the water has gotten? You would have been hurt, probably killed."

I wretched myself out of his hold and turned to face him. I was about to scream at him for interrupting my moment with _his_ voice, moments were hard to come by, but then I saw his face. His eyes looked slightly red, had he been crying? Then panic. Had Victoria gotten to someone? I would never forgive myself if she killed or even hurt someone else while she sought out revenge on me. Laurent said that she thought it was only fair to kill Edward's mate since he killed hers. She didn't know that Edward no longer wanted me. I wasn't worthy of the revenge she sought.

"What happened?" I asked urgently. "Did Victoria..."

"No, no Bella, not Victoria. Harry Clearwater had a heart attack. It doesn't look good. Charlie's with him now."

"Oh no!" I melted into Jacobs arms. Relieved that Victoria hadn't done anything to hurt the people that I love. Saddened as I was snapped out of my own terrifying world and brought back to reality. Jacob held me tight as the rain started. He held me tighter as the rain and wind picked up. Finally, he whispered in my ear that he was taking me home. I stiffened, not wanting to move from that moment, but Jacob is strong and probably didn't even notice that I was trying to resist. He cradled me in his arms, hunching forward to keep as much rain off me as possible and took off through the woods back to my truck.

He set me in the passenger seat and climbed in behind the wheel. The ride home was silent, when I shivered, Jacob reached over and pulled me to the middle of the seat. Pushed up against him, with his arm around me I was warm. Jacob took such good care of me. He loved me.

I saw Charlie's cruiser in front of the house and my heart sank. Jacob held my hand as he walked me to the door. It was just like the hundreds of other times that he held my hand, he didn't expect anything back, but this time I think it meant more to me. Was it just gratitude for how much Jacob did for me? Was it just my need to be close to someone, anyone at all? No, not that- my feelings were specific to Jacob. But what then? I had to figure this out and quickly!

I opened the door and was nearly ran over by Charlie. "Bella." I saw it on his face, the pain of permenant loss. Harry was dead.

"Oh dad!" I rushed into his arms. He held me for a few moments, I could feel the weight of his sadness. I wished I knew what to say, but I know there is nothing, so I just clung to him as long as he seemed to need it. After a moment he loosened his grip on me.

"Bella, I need to head back to Sue's. She needs people around. There are arrangements to be made..." He stumbled through more, but he was somewhat incoherent.

"Go Dad, I'll be fine here with Jacob." My dad look gratefully at Jacob. I wasn't sure if I should be alone with Jacob. He and I had been together so much, it felt like our relationship was on the verge of a huge change and I didn't want change, change that I was sure would only hurt Jacob and pull him from my life. I couldn't burden my father right now, I would just have to be careful.

As my dad left, I headed back toward the kitchen. The sadness on Charlie's face was haunting me. What was I thinking? How could I have been so reckless, taking such risks. Had something happened to me, Charlie would be devastated. That was it, no more stupid stuff. The addiction of my delusions was broken. The hole in my heart ached as I thought of cutting myself off from my drug of choice, my adrenaline fueled delusions of Edward. I would have to stop, I wasn't the only person in the world who felt pain and I couldn't be the cause of my father's.

Jacob followed me back to the kitchen. The phone on the wall rang, just as he passed it.

"Swann residence" I watched him answer our phone, waiting for him to respond. The caller must have asked for Charlie, "He's not here, he's...planning a funeral. Can I have him call you?" I heard the line go dead.

"Who was that?"

"Not sure, they hung up." He shrugged his shoulders and came closer to me as I leaned against the sink. He reached his hand out taking mine, just as he had done so many times before. A comfortable guesture. It wasn't comfortable anymore. I'm sure it was the same for him, but for me- it asked questions that I couldn't answer.

I looked at Jacob, the questions whirling in my head. Jake looked into my eyes and he must have seen the uncertainty, the weakness. He saw an opportunity. He leaned down towards me, his hands came up to catch my face. I hadn't finished thinking this through, I didn't know which direction I wanted to go. How can I slow the world down?

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story, I was always kind of disappointed that Jacob never had a chance. I'm not positive which direction I am going with this, but feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW


	2. Chapter 2

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

**********Bella***********

I was frozen, his lips were an inch from mine. I wanted to stop him, stall him- anything. I needed more time. His lips touched mine and his already incredibly hot skin seemed to catch fire. Or was that my skin aflame? The thing that overwhelmed me though is that this new fire somehow eased the six month ache in the center of my chest. An ache that I had grown so accustomed to, an ache that I thought had become a permanent part of my anatomy. For the first time in half a year, my lungs filled completely with air. I was so unsure of Jacob only seconds ago, but suddenly I was very certain that I didn't want him to stop.

I pressed myself against him. I wrapped my arms around him, clawing at his wide back, trying impossibly to pull myself closer to him. His burning fingers found the back of my head and locked me in place, as if he worried I would change my mind. I wouldn't.

I pawed and kissed Jacob more and more fevered, exploding from within. I was suddenly free- even if just temporarily- from the pain. He some how found the composure to pull my face away from his. I felt the edges of the hole in my chest start to ache again, the air pressed out of my chest. I immediately moved back toward him, but he held me back for a moment.

His eyes surveyed my face, looking for some signal on my face to tell him what this meant. I didn't have all the answers for him yet, but I couldn't let him stop. Not yet. My arms gripped the back of his neck and I pulled myself up to him. His resolve weakened and he let me. I pulled myself back up to his face and wrapped my legs around his hips, letting him completely support me.

I pressed my lips back against his. He pulled his lips from me again, but without hesitation his lips went to my neck. He kissed me with all the passion that had been building all this time that I had kept him at bey. He ripped my shirt a little as he gained access to my bare shoulder. I gasped in surprise but my hands locked in his hair, pulled him closer, and told him that he had not crossed any lines. His kisses got harder and harder, the heat of his lips pressing into my skin seemed to boil the blood flowing under. His kisses led him to the bottom of my neck, I leaned back slightly to allow him access to my body. I took deep breaths, my eyes closed, I basked in the freedom of my pain. He stopped again.

"Bella, I don't know what... I'm not really sure..." Jacobs face looked pained as he tried to ascertain if this moment was real, if it meant anything. "Bella, as much as I want you, I don't want you to make a decision rashly. I don't want you to regret anything. I want you, but I can wait. I will wait, until it's right"

"Jacob Black. I. Need. You." Every word said slowly, clearly. The look in my eyes was wild, lust filled. That seemed to break down the last of his restraint. His grip on me tightened and we flew up the stairs to my bedroom.

He laid me on the bed. As he stood over me, I saw with clear eyes for the first time exactly how amazing his body was. I came up on my knees which brought me level with his chest. I laid my hands gently against his chest. I leaned my head to hear his heartbeat. I was greatful that his seemed to be beating just as hard as mine. What was so fevered downstairs had become suddenly gentle and tender. He wrapped his arms around me and moved back with me on the bed. As I lay on my back, he slid my shirt up and over my head and unsnapped my bra. As he pulled the bra away from my body, he planted soft kisses all over my stomach. His hot hands seemed to cook my skin as he rubbed up my ribcage. It was an amazing heat. He continued kissing my stomach as his hand found my breast. He caressed, then his fingers found my nipple. His lips were immediately on my nipple now, licking gently one moment, sucking a little harder the next. His knee slid between my legs, and I gladly slid them apart. He shifted his balance so that he could continue teasing my nipple with his mouth and have his hands free remove my jeans and panties. He stood up on his knees pulling his mouth and hands away from my body as he unbuttoned his own jeans.

He came back down on top of me, pausing to look into my eyes again. "Bella, are you sure? You know I will wait..." I stopped his interruption by pulling his body down on me further. The pace slowed down even more as he kissed my cheek very gently. I could feel how hard he was pressed up against me and I spread my legs even further to draw him in. He entered me and I gasped. He moved slowly, delicately, kissing my face the whole time. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. My back arced and my hips rose to meet him. The intensity seemed to grow again, Jacobs moved faster and harder between my legs. I opened my eyes to look at him. His eyes were boring into me with such intensity and passion. Our eyes locked and that only drove him even harder into me. I felt the heat begin to build at my very core. I could sense that he was getting close to climaxing too, he was practically slamming into me now. My head was swimming, I couldn't catch my breath.

I felt the explosion come over me in waves. I stared at Jacob's face as he came, his shoulders stiffened, his face frozen. All I could say was his name and then he fell to the bed beside me. He reached out with his hand to touch my cheek and said, "my Bella." I was his. It was true. I had been so wounded and Jacob had somehow fixed me. He always had made me feel better and more alive. As I laid beside him, I couldn't understand why I had resisted this so long.

My Jacob. The last thing to go through my mind as I fell asleep. The kind of sleep that I hadn't had in a long time. Restful, without nightmare, without pain.

I was awakened by a angry growl, loud and primal. As I snapped awake, I instinctively curled into Jacob's protective arms. I tried to wake up and comprehend the situation. But Jacob's arms didn't feel right. He was shaking, violently shaking. In a moment every thing made sense. The growl had been vampire and the werewolf in my bed was reacting badly to the vampire. I flipped my head around expecting Victoria. Of course she would come for me at this moment. The one perfect moment I'd had in six months. What would happen to my Jacob?

My eyes adjusted to the dark as I made out the figure by my window. It wasn't Victoria though, it was an even more dangerous vampire. Edward.

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story!

PLEASE REVIEW


	3. Chapter 3

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

**********Bella***********

I turned to look at Jacob, willing him to calm down. Edward spoke from behind me, "Watch it mongrel, you don't want to lose control in here, if you hurt her, I will end you."

"You are one to talk, bloodsucker! You have a history of hurting her, not me. I won't let you have another opportunity." Jacob snarled at Edward, both tensed. Jacob's shaking got worse. I turned around and put my hand on Jacob's chest. The physical contact brought his full attention to me, it instantly calmed him- only slightly, but enough. I could still see fury in his eyes. With Jacob under moderate control, I turned back to Edward.

Edward! What was he doing here? I had spent months dreaming of our reunion, I waited for it, I imagined how it would be a thousand times- but this is never what I ever imagined. What was I going to do? Then I thought of Charlie rushing in here, what in the world would he think. Would he get hurt? Was he even home? Had he made it back from Sue's?

"Is Charlie here?" I turned to ask Jake, but Edward answered "no" before Jake could answer me.

Jake snarled at Edward. "He called after you fell asleep, he's staying at my dad's. He asked if I would stay on the couch so you wouldn't be alone."

"That wasn't the couch, mutt!" Edward hissed at Jacob. Both men took tensed and took a step closer.

"I don't know what's going on, but I need you guys in different places immediately! I can't handle this! I would be devastated if either of you were hurt." I looked them both in the eyes. "Edward, wait for me in the kitchen."

Jacob tensed, Edward didn't budge.

"Listen, I need to talk to you both, but I can't talk to you in the same room. You're going to kill each other. Edward- kitchen. I'll be right down." He looked at me uncertain for a moment. He relaxed from his fighting stance and then the pain, the betrayal marked his face. He backed out the window and a second later I heard him open the back door and settle into a chair.

I turned my focus back to Jacob. "What the hell is going on Bella?" He looked angry and I hoped that he was only angry at the intrusion and not at me.

"I honestly don't know Jacob, I don't know why he's here."

Jacob was quiet for a moment then finally asked in a very quiet, almost scared voice, "If he's here then what did... Will that change how..." He paused trying to find the words. After a moment he just leaned down to me, "What about last night?" Edward growled from downstairs.

I searched for words that would be reassuring for Jacob- or for me, but I was at a loss. I put my hand on the side of his face, "I don't know why he's here or what he wants, but I need to talk to him. I need to figure this out." I turned to walk away and he pulled me back to him. He protectively wrapped himself around me.

"Bella, don't go down there. You don't owe that leech anything! I will gladly escort that blood sucker out." His hands on my back started to shake.

"Easy, Jacob. I am just going down to find out why he's here. I will be fine Jacob. He made it clear that he didn't want me when he left. I don't know why he's back, but I'm sure it's not for me."

"I will be right back, just give me a few minutes." I pried myself from his arms and went down stairs.

I stood at the door of the kitchen and stared at Edward. He sat at the table with his head bent down into his hands. My heart ached, freshly mended wounds suddenly re-exposed. He heard me in the room but didn't look up.

"Alice saw something...I...just came to check on you. I didn't know I would find you...in bed...with a werewolf! Bella, what the hell are you doing with a werewolf?" He finally brought his eyes up to mine. Edwards eyes always seemed bottomless, and at that moment, so was the pain in them.

I sat down at the table across from him, "I thought my heart would never mend when you left. No actually, I didn't think I had a heart to mend, after you left. I was broken. You have no idea what I went through, the things I did," I thought about the crazy things I had done just to hear a whisper of Edwards voice. I had better skip over that. "I would not have made it without Jacob."

"You seemed to be doing just fine twenty minutes ago." He snapped at me. He looked up to meet my eyes with accusation. "His dreams... he was...did you...with HIM?" He spat the words out, somewhat incoherently, but I knew what he was asking. I was sure that I knew what Jacob had been dreaming.

I blushed, answering his question, but his judgment angered me. "Edward, YOU left ME. Remember? YOU didn't want ME! Jacob was the only friend I had. He was the only person who could stand me at my worst, and that is exactly what the last six months have been. My worst."

His face disappeared back into his hands. "What have I done?" He sat there still for what seemed an eternity and then finally looked to my eyes again. "Bella, oh Bella. I only said that so you would let me leave, I didn't want to. It was nearly impossible for me to tell such a dark lie, but I knew I had to. I had to leave you because I wanted you safe and time after time, I put you in danger. I had to leave you so that you would have the opportunity to be human." He paused, his hand reached across the table to mine. The coldness of it, something that I once craved with every fiber of my being, was foreign to me now. I pulled my hand away. He looked back down. "In theory, yes, I hoped that you would move on with your human life, but walking in, seeing it. I wasn't prepared for that. I guess I hoped that you were as miserable without me as I was without you." This angered me even more.

"You have NO idea what you have put me through. You made a decision that would effect the rest of my life, and not only did I not get a voice in the process, but you told me the most painful of all lies to force me into it. Now, you want to pop back in and turn the tiny bit of sanity that I have found into chaos again? You don't have the right to do that."

"Bella, I'll leave. I only came to check on you, Alice said, well it doesn't matter. You don't need me here." He stood and walked to the back door.

I was angry at him, but I didn't want for him to walk away on such empty terms.

"Wait," I stopped him. "What did Alice see? Did she see Victoria?"

His eyes hardened, "What about Victoria? Bella, what happened?"

I immediately regretted bringing it up. I did not want to involve him any further.

"Bella! What is going on?"

I told him how Laurent had found me alone, what he had said about Victoria wanting to avenge her beloved James' death by killing me. I told him how the wolves had taken care of him. Then how Victoria had tried several times to get to me, but again the wolves had stopped her. He was fuming now.

"That's not what I intended when I left you, Bella. I expected that if we left, then so would the dangers, well at least the dangers associated with vampires. I would have never left you if I had known... I can't believe that I left you to deal with this alone. Not just alone but with wolves. I hate myself more than you could even imagine right now Bella, I'm so sorry." His face clouded over again with a most tormented look. "I left you so that you would be safe. Now I have lost your love, and for nothing, it didn't even keep you safe. I've lost you for nothing." He told me that he needed a moment, he would be right back as he stepped onto our back porch. I heard him talking but couldn't understand his low murmurings.

He stepped back into the kitchen and I prepared myself for another good-bye scene. "Bella, I'm meeting everyone at the house, we will come back later to talk to you more about Victoria."

"What, I thought you were leaving? Everyone's coming here?" I wasn't excited about drawing out our good-bye, but I was excited about seeing Alice and everyone else.

"There is no way that I am leaving you unprotected with Victoria lurking around, Bella. You may not love me any more, but I still love you far too much for me to ignore this." His words stung me, how dare he imply that I didn't still love him. I did. I didn't know exactly what that meant but I did still love Edward.

"We'll be by later after we've talked about things and we will be patrolling the woods. We WILL keep you safe, Bella. I promise." He leaned as if he were about to kiss me, but just spun on his feet and ran.

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story!

PLEASE REVIEW


	4. Chapter 4

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

**********Bella***********

I slumped back against the wall. I looked up to the ceiling and closed my eyes. What a mess. I tried to pull myself together, I still had my werewolf upstairs to deal with. I walked toward the stairs, the nights events replaying in my mind. What would Jacob be thinking? I walked in my room, but he wasn't there. Where was he? He didn't go after Edward, did he? He didn't leave me, did he? He waited so long for me, I'm finally ready and within hours, Edward walks right back into my life. Poor Jake, he must be going out of his mind.

I walked to the window to look out for him just as he launched himself into my room. He grabbed me with both arms, rolled us in the air, and landed sliding across the floor with me on top of him. I screamed and held on to him.

"Bella! Are you ok?" Clearly, he hadn't expected me to be in the way when he jumped.

"I think so, I need a minute." My breathing eventually slowed down and I was able to pry my hands from his protective arms still wrapped around me. I rolled to the side and sat up next to him.

"Jake, are _you_ ok?"

His concerned tone was replaced by a new harsher one. "I don't know Bella, that depends on what your bloodsucker wants." He jumped to his feet.

I winced a little hearing Jacob's bitter tone. How much of our conversation did I need to divulge? I stood to my feet too. I thought carefully about my conversation with Edward and then picked out the shortest, simplest explanation. "Alice saw something that worried him, I guess that he just wanted to make sure I was okay."

He cocked his head to the side and frowned his eyes at me. "So, you're okay, he's gone then?"

He was not going to like was I was about to tell him. "Not exactly." He started to shake.

"If he was _just checking on you_, than why is he _not exactly_ gone?"

"I let the situation with Victoria slip out. He feels responsible, he feels as if it's his mess to clean up."

He shook even more. "Well he's finally gotten something right. He is responsible, this is all his fault. But you tell him that us wolves are here to clean up the mess. He is free to leave, the last thing we need is one more leech involved."

This conversation was about to take an even uglier turn. "Actually, five more. He called his family to come back to Forks until Victoria is gone." Maybe I should have waited to include that detail. He looked as if he were about to lose it.

"Jake, I know this is hard for you but you have to calm down. I didn't ask for any of this." My eyes begged him. "You can't lose your cool right now, I am barely holding it together myself."

He seemed to melt before my eyes. He sat down on the bed, taking a few deep breaths. I sat beside him. I left some distance, I didn't know how close he wanted me right now.

"Bella, this is hard for me, but I know it must be really hard for you too. I know that you have a lot on your mind, but I need to know..." He paused, afraid to ask the question. "What does...How does this... with _him_ here, how does that affect..." He couldn't even finish. He brought his eyes to mine.

"oh, Jacob! It doesn't, It doesn't change anything. I did love him, part of me still does, but not... He hurt me very badly. I do still love him, but I could never let him have my heart again." He knew it, but hearing me say out loud that I still loved Edward hurt him. He leaned forward to look at the ground. Why did I feel as if I were always hurting someone? Jacob didn't deserve this.

"If you want some space or time away from me, I understand. I'm sorry that this is hurting you. I love you, Jacob and I know you love me. But I also know that this situation is more, much more than you bargained for. If it's too much..."

"I'm NOT leaving you, especially with bloodsuckers in town. They've gotten you into enough trouble, I won't give them the opportunity to put you through anything more. If Edward is only back because Victoria is around, then we will just have to step up our game and get rid of her. The faster she is gone, the faster the _they_ are gone."

I could live with that. I definitely wanted Victoria gone. I would be sad when the Cullens left me again, but I couldn't stay in the middle of this vampire-wolf war for long.

Jake stiffened beside me, before I could ask what was wrong, the doorbell rang. Jake flew down the stairs, starting to tremble again. I ran behind him. What now? I cannot face Edward again. It is almost four in the morning and I am emotionally drained. I was halfway down when Jake flung open the door. Jacob didn't stop shaking, but relief washed over me. Alice!

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story, I was always kind of disappointed that Jacob never had a chance. I'm not positive which direction I am going with this, but feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW


	5. Chapter 5

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

**********Bella***********

"Alice! Alice! Alice!" I ran down the last few stairs and threw myself at my lost friend. Oww, I forgot how hard vampires are. I would bruise from that, but I didn't care. "Oh, Alice, I missed you!"

Alice tensed under me. "I missed you too, Bella!" She chirped, "I had forgotten how difficult it is to be close to you." She gently pulled me back. Her eyes were so dark, I hadn't even thought about it. I had forgotten how careful I need to be when around vampire friends, particularly dark-eyed thirsty ones.

Jacob leaned down to my ear, "I need to run for a few minutes, check in with Sam. I'll be close, though, don't worry." He kissed my forehead and then flew past Alice.

"Bella, we need to talk!"

She was talking almost too fast for me to understand. "What is that smell? Who was THAT? What did you say to Edward, we got to the house and he was nearly catatonic. All I could get from him was Victoria had been in the area and to make sure I used the doorbell. Did you see her? _What is going on!_"

Where to even start? The easiest stuff first- I filled her in on Laurent and Victoria and the wolves. It's funny that my vampire stalker was the "easy" part of this story.

"So that guy, the one that reeks, he's a wolf?" I nodded.

"Bella, what are you doing with wolves?" She twisted her face into a disapproving frown.

My voice was very sheepish as I explained the other part. "Jacob is my best friend, more than that actually. Edward came here and found me and Jacob... together. I guess he told you to ring the doorbell because he didn't want you to..." Her eyes widened as she put the pieces together.

"You're _seeing_ a werewolf? But what about Edward?" She looked wounded.

"Alice, Edward left me. He said he didn't want me. I went crazy without him. I waited and waited for the nightmare to end, but it didn't. Jacob helped me, he healed me. Yesterday, well, I just, it just happened."

"He was coming back for you. I saw it. You don't know how pathetic he was without you. He still loves you, very much."

"And what would happen the next time he decided that he knows what's best for me? When he decides that he needs to leave me again? He refuses to change me and as long as I'm human, I'm fragile. It would only be a matter of time before something happened to shake his resolve again."

"He would change you, I saw it. He was fighting the decision, but it was going to happen." She looked at me hopefully as if that may change my mind.

"I can _never_ risk going through that again. It was too hard. I barely lived through it. I almost jumped from a cliff yesterday, Alice. I can't live through it again, I won't." And of course there was Jacob. Even if I were inclined to give Edward another chance, I couldn't hurt Jacob like that.

"This will destroy him, Bella. Never is a long time when you are immortal."

"I know. But he put me in this position. He did this, not me."

I looked up at Alice and her eyes were focused on something far away. She was seeing something. After a few moments, her eyes snapped back to focus and she looked worried. She pulled out her cell phone and I saw the name as she sent the call to Carlisle.

She filled him in on the situation, as discretely as she could. Then she told him about her vision. "Ever since Edward mentioned Victoria earlier, I've been trying to keep an eye out for her. All I could get was that she had joined a coven in Seattle. The coven leader thinks she loves him and she has told him that we will kill her if she doesn't kill us first. She has told them that Bella is the key to flushing the rest of us out. Her decisions have been changing so fast that I wasn't able to see anything about her strategy, but she just decided that they are coming. In three days. They have called friends to come and join them, they are expecting about six or seven more, plus the three they have. That's ten, Carlisle." I could here Carlisle responding to her.

"Bella, will the wolves fight with us?"

"Against vampires, I think so." The wolves hated the Cullens, but surely they hated the other vampires more. And Jacob would be anxious to get rid of Victoria. Yes, I thought they would.

As if on cue, I heard the back door. Alice tensed as Jacob walked into the room.

Alice put her cell phone in my hand. "Take this, call Carlisle's phone after you have talked with him." She pecked me on the cheek, "I'm so sorry you are in the middle of another horrible situation. I am glad to see you though. Think about what I said." She smiled at me apologetically and left.

"Talk with me about what? Think about what?" Jacob took Alice's place beside me.

"Alice saw that Victoria is bringing nine or ten vampires in another attempt to reach me. Neither the wolves or the Cullens can handle that many without possibly losing someone. Carlisle suggested that their family and the wolves could fight them together."

Jacob's laughter interupted me. "Bella, you are so naïve. You seriously expect us to fight WITH vampires? Not going to happen. We can handle Victoria, don't worry."

"No, Jacob. Someone will get hurt. You might get hurt, I can't lose you. I won't. You have to do this for me. I just want her gone, I want to be able to sleep without wondering if tonight is the night she will come for me. Will she kill Charlie?" I broke into tears and Jacob's warmth quickly surrounded me.

Jacob sighed heavily then smiled at me. "The things a wolf in love does. I'll talk to Sam, but no promises. Be right back."

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story, I was always kind of disappointed that Jacob never had a chance. I'm not positive which direction I am going with this, but feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW


	6. Chapter 6

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

**********Bella***********

Charlie's sofa wasn't very comfortable, but I was tired enough that it didn't even matter. I closed my eyes while I waited for Jacob. I didn't plan on falling asleep, but it forced itself on me. It felt as if I had barely closed my eyes, when Jacob's warm body slid in beside me and woke me.

I smiled at him, momentarily remembering the amazing part of our night before the rest crashed back into my consciousness. He smiled back at me, but it was strained. The nights events had taken their toll on him. I could see doubt, fear- his face was understandably troubled. I'm sure that my face mirrored his, I was just as troubled, just not as perfectly brown.

"Jacob, what a mess. I am so sorry to be putting you through all this."

"I'd go through anything for you. This is nothing." He tried to laugh, but it was half-hearted.

"So what did Sam say?" I knew that if it were Jacob's decision, he would go along with it, but the others I knew would be a little more hesitant.

"Sam agreed to meet with them, but he wouldn't agree to more than that." That seemed reasonable. I knew that collaboration with vampires went against their nature, it was built into their DNA to hunt and kill vampires- but I hoped they could see past that to make a distinction between the Cullens and others. Others like Victoria. I pulled Alice's cell phone out of my pocked and called Carlisle.

His melodic voice greated me warmly. "Carlisle, it's really nice to hear your voice." I meant it too. He had always so kind to me. Jacob's warm brown eyes frowned at me, he disapproved of my friendliness. I told Carlisle that Sam had agreed to meet to discuss the situation. He told me to send the wolves to the border just north of the river. I told Jacob and he nodded, so I assumed he knew where Carlisle was talking about.

"Bella, ask Jacob if he can bring you there, we don't want to leave you unprotected even for a short while. I can send Alice if..."

Jacob cut him off, snapping into the phone, "I will bring her." He clearly didn't share the warm feeling I had for Carlisle.

"We'll let you get some rest then, Bella, I'm sure it's been a long night for you. We'll plan on being there at noon."

I hung up the phone and nuzzled back into Jacob's warmth. He wrapped around arms tightly. I fell asleep as he kissed my forehead. I slept restlessly. I felt safe in Jacob's arms, but there were too many stressful things keeping my mind from rest. Jacob roused me up shortly after eight, he heard Charlie's cruiser on our street and thought maybe we should be found in a more _appropriate _position.

I jumped out of his grasp and ran upstairs. I was in my pajamas, pulling my hair back into a ponytail, when I heard the front door open.

"Hey Jake, how was your night? I know that couch isn't very comfortable."

"It was fine, Charlie. Don't worry about it. How's Sue? How's my dad?"

"Well, they are about as good as you could expect I guess. Sue is trying to be strong for the kids. Your dad never shows emotion. I can tell both are hurting pretty bad. I'm going to grab a shower and head back over. There is still so much to be done..." My dad and Jake fell silent as I came down the stairs.

I hugged my dad tightly, "I'm gonna fix some breakfast dad. Want some eggs?"

"That would be great, Bells. Thanks."

The three of us ate an awkwardly silent breakfast together. After he finished, my dad got up to leave and thanked Jake for babysitting me for yet another day. It was almost insulting that Charlie was insinuating that I couldn't be alone- although it was technically true. I was being hunted after all. But I new that Charlie just didn't want me to be lonely. I was okay with that.

Charlie went up for his shower. Jacob left to phase so that he could update the wolves.

It was nice to have a moment to myself. I let myself travel back through the emotionally dangerous conversations that I had with Edward and Alice. What would I have done if I had known? Would he have really come back for me? Would he have eventually changed me? I had told Edward and Alice that it didn't change anything, was I certain of that decision? Just months ago, I was willing to let Edward take away my mortality. I was that absolutely sure of my future with him. He didn't stop loving me, he just left me to protect me. He handled that wrong, he should have trusted me with the truth. And now there was Jacob. I did love him too. He had been so faithful a friend. I couldn't imagine how hard it would be to try to walk away from him. Hard for him. And hard for me.

Jacob was back quickly to save me once again. This time from the worrisome thoughts.

"You look like you could use some more rest." I nodded. He reached for my hand and pulled me behind him up the stairs. He laid down on the be and scooted to the edge, making room for me. I crawled up the bed to the empty spot and for the forth time, closed my eyes to try to sleep.

I slept a little better, but still not as peacefully as I did the first time. I woke after a couple hours, feeling somewhat beter. My poor Jacob was exhausted, he slept deeply beside me. I propped my head up on my elbows and I watched his beautiful face as he dreamed. He said my name a couple times in his sleep.

I just realized the depth of my feeling for Jacob not even a full day ago. Edward being back certainly made everything more complicated, but I think that I've made the right choice. Hearing him say my name, knowing he was dreaming of me, I liked that.

At eleven, I started kissing Jacob to wake him. I didn't know where we were going or how far away it was. He woke up and sleepily smiled at me.

"It's eleven, when do we need to head out?"

He thought for a moment, "well, it's a little ways to travel, I'll probably need to run as a wolf. I've never traveled that way with you, so we might want to leave soon."

The thought of being with Jacob as a wolf was kind of exciting. I hopped up and grabbed fresh clothes from my dresser. I ran off the the bathroom to change and brush my teeth. Feeling a bit refreshed, I was ready to go. I didn't want to tell Jacob, but I was actually excited about seeing my friends.

I found him downstairs and we headed off into the forest together.

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story, I was always kind of disappointed that Jacob never had a chance. I'm not positive which direction I am going with this, but feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW


	7. Chapter 7

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

**********Bella***********

Jake disappeared behind some brush, just long enough to phase and then reappeared. Now came the awkward part- exactly how. We had never done this before, traveling together in this way. He came over and crouched down. I took that to mean I should climb on his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, well as far around his neck as I could reach. He snorted, gently got to his feet, took a couple steps. It was a little scary, but I knew that I could trust Jacob. Still, didn't he say that he had never done this before? Before I could think about it anymore, Jake took off. I could tell that he was trying to take it slow, and it was slow for a wolf. He bounded through the forest, dodging in and out of trees, leaping over streams and logs, and ducking under low branches. I felt as if I were being pulled in a hundred different directions, but anytime I felt my body slide at all, I could feel him adjust his stride under me to re-balance us. After a few minutes I was able to relax a little and enjoy the ride a little bit more. Not enough to loosen my grip one iota, but enough to watch the world fly by me.

We arrived at the meeting spot and Jake hunched down so I could slide off. I ruffled the hair behind his ear. "That was kind of amazing, huh?" He just winked one of his huge brown wolf eyes at me and snorted. He disappeared again, leaving me to greet my friends.

I scanned their eyes and saw that all their eyes were very dark. I would have to be careful, but I had to hug each one of them. I had missed them terribly. When they left, I was consumed by my loss of Edward, but I didn't just lose him, underneath the pain I felt from Edward's absence, I truly missed each of the other Cullen's as well. I went straight for Carlisle, he had helped me so much and I also knew that he had the best will power of all the Cullens.

He hugged me the way a father hugs a child and smiled as he looked in my face. "It's really good to see you, Bella!"

Beside him stood the kind-hearted Cullen matriarch, Esme. She smiled very kindly at me. I hugged her and she held onto me very tightly. I knew Esme loved me too, but it was a moving gesture anyhow.

Alice gave me a warm hug too. "Really? Wolves, Bella?" She looked at me as if I were a little crazy, but smiled too. It's funny that she had no problem with me dating a vampire, but a wolf was just insane. Jasper's hug was a little stiff, but I understood. Emmett possibly broke a rib with his bear hug. I didn't move to hug Rosalie or Edward, things were still too weird with both of them.

Thankfully, the sound of the wolves approaching interrupted the moment. The Cullen's seemed fairly at ease still, but I saw Jacob walk out with Sam in human form and they both looked very tense. The rest of the pack remained in wolf form and stayed back at the edge of the clearing.

Carlisle greeted them and thanked them for coming. He let Alice fill them in on what she had seen. The rest of the meeting consisted of Carlisle, Jasper, Jacob and Sam hashing over what they could expect, how to divide "the troops," and other strategical notes. Rosalie looked bored when she wasn't glaring down the wolves. Emmett was staring curiously.

Edward looked everywhere in the forest except at me. The air between us felt very heavy. I had no idea what to do about that, but I was not happy about it. I walked toward Edward, "Can we talk?"

I passed him and walked to the edge of the woods, I didn't hear him behind me but when I turned, he was there. Now what? I didn't know what to say, I didn't even know exactly what I was looking for from him. I just knew that the massive sadness between us was unbearable.

I was searching through my mind trying to find words, but Edward spoke first. "Bella, I know that you are troubled, yet again, I have brought more pain to your existence. I will never forgive myself for any of this. I _will_ make you safe from Victoria, but I can't seem to protect you from me. I'm deeply sorry, more than you could ever imagine." His guilty eyes met mine for just a moment before he diverted them back to the ground.

"Edward, you don't have to bear the entire weight of this situation. You saved my life, several times. And here you are again, fighting to save me."

"Fighting to save you from a monster that I brought in your life... don't forget that part."

"Yes, but had you not saved me twice before that, James nor Victoria would have never even known I was a speck of dust on this planet. Don't forget THAT part." I was never very good at arguing with Edward, but I felt as if I had made an excellent point.

He considered what I said, but his response left me speechless. "Bella, we are having the wrong discussion. The real problem between us is that you feel guilty about my misery. You are the one who is bearing the weight of an impossible situation." Unfortunately, I think he's right. "It's not your fault that I left you in this situation. I can tell from your _mongrel's_ thoughts that you suffered. I can see the pain in your eyes that he saw every day. The circles under your eyes from lost sleep. Your face thinned from not eating. I did that to you, and you feel bad for trying to find happiness." Right again. "I can see that your _closeness_ with him is very recent. He thinks that if I had come days earlier, hours perhaps, that you would have chosen me. He thinks you may still." I didn't know if any of that was right. I still had no words for him. A fresh pain washed over his face as he saw the tears build up in my eyes. "I've fought my entire existence trying not be a monster, and yet here I am, haunting you. I'm sorry Bella." That part was absolutely not right.

"You are not a monster. Don't say that, Edward! Don't even think it."

"Bella, I will stay and fight Victoria. That is more my fight than anyone else involved." He hesitated, he finally brought his eyes back up to mine. "I don't want to hurt you any further, but I would never forgive myself if I didn't make myself clear. I have no right to expect you to still love me, but if you decide that you do, if you were to decide that I was worthy of the opportunity, I would stop at no boundary to make amends for the pains that I've caused you." He looked over his shoulder as the strategy meeting seemed to be breaking up. Our personal meeting had caught Jacob's attention.

Edward knew that it was time to wrap up our conversation, "Bella, I won't ask you to choose me. But I must admit that his doubts give me hope. If you no longer love me, I will leave once you are safe and you will never be interrupted by our presence again."

A million thought fluttered in my mind as I tried to process everything. At the same time, anxiety tightened my stomach as Jacob approached us. His shaking body had attracted the attention of the other wolves and the Cullens.

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story, I was always kind of disappointed that Jacob never had a chance. Now that I've given him his chance, I'm not sure who she should choose. I was pretty sure that it would be Jacob, but after writing that conversation with Edward, even I'm no positive anymore... Feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	8. Chapter 8

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage.

I did some re-vamping... This chapter goes all the way up to the sex scene. I added a bit more detail. The sex is now confined to a chapter all by itself so that it can be skipped without missing any of the story, and since I got a couple of feedbacks saying that the sex was a little over the top, I watered it down a bit. I plan on publishing the original by itself, for those that are curious...

Enjoy and feel free to send more feedback.

**********Bella***********

I flew around Edward to stand between him and Jake. "Jake, calm down!" He didn't even seem to see me, his fury burned past me, at Edward.

Sam spoke, "Stop Jake. Our mission here is bigger than that." Jacob's muscles froze as the orders bound him. I felt a breeze behind me and turned to see that Edward was gone. Jake's eyes still burned into the woods where he had disappeared but he seemed to be gaining control. Alice looked at me apologetically and then flew past me to chase her brother. The woods seemed to swirl around me, but only for a second, then they disappeared completely.

"Bell! Bella! Answer me! BELLA" I lifted my heavy eyelids to see Jacob frantically calling me. Carlisle was also down on the ground with me, both looking at me very worried.

I tried to sit up, but Carlisle's firm touch told me to stay put. His icy fingers were on my wrist, taking my pulse and his eyes were furrowed. "Bella, you fainted. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine. Really, I just, its just all a little overwhelming." Why did I always have to draw everyone's attention.

"Bella, I think you're fine too, but I would like to bring you back to the house. Make sure you eat and get some fluids in you. I think you are dehydrated. Give you a better check over. Is that okay?" He asked me, but his eyes looked up to Jacob to ask permission from him too. I don't know how much Alice and Edward had filled him in, or if he could just tell.

Jacob and I both nodded, I would love to spend time at the Cullen house and Jacob just wanted to make sure I was okay. Jacob turned around to signal the wolves that they could leave. Carlisle sent Emmett and Rosalie to the store for some human food, and he whispered something to Jasper who turned on his heels and ran. Jacob picked me up and we followed Carlisle into the woods.

The trip back was slower than the trip in had been. Jacob couldn't go as fast in human form, but he could still go faster than the normal human and without showing any sign of being winded. It was actually kind of relaxing. The heat of Jacob's body soothed me. I rested my head on his shoulder and focused on the details of the passing leaves on trees to give my mind a break from the conversation I had just had with Edward.

"Bella, are you ok?"

"Oh, Jacob, I'm fine. I just need some lunch." I smiled at him, desperately trying to reassure him.

"That's not what I was talking about. Did _Edward _do something, or say something? I mean, it must have been a heck of a conversation to make you faint..." He tried to keep his tone light, like he was simply curious. But I knew. He was looking for answers, answers that I didn't have.

"He feels bad for the whole situation. He saw your visions of me, the last couple of months. I thought I was doing a good job of putting on a brave face, but you saw right through it and so he can see that." I couldn't tell Jacob what he actually said- that he still loved me. That he still wanted me. Did he say that? Maybe I had bumped my head when I fainted. I reached my hand to check for a bump or sore spot, but no luck. "He wishes things were different."

Noticing my hand, his face quickly filled with worry. "Are you okay? I mean your head, is it hurting?" Carlisle quickly turned and rushed back to us.

"yes, I mean, yes, I'm fine" I stammered, "I was just checking my, I'm fine. No bumps or anything." I could tell that Carlisle added my head to the list of things to check and continued. The rest of our walk was silent.

When the house was in sight, I asked Jake to set me down. He hesitated but obeyed. I walked in and was greeted by the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. "Jacob, you can grab some lunch while I give Bella a look if you want." Carlisle gestured for me to follow him back to his office.

He started to object, but I told him to go ahead. I'd had enough people fussing over me. I followed Carlisle back and he motioned for me to make myself comfortable on his butter soft leather couch. He grabbed his medical bag and sat across from me on the coffee table. He checked my pulse again, used a pin light to examine my eyes. He checked to make sure none of my joints were sore, he checked my vision and felt my head for bumps. He seemed satisfied after a few minutes of poking and prodding and finally closed his bag.

"Well, Bella, you do seem fine. Physically at least. I hope this isn't awkward of me to mention, but Alice filled me in on what happened last night. That in addition to the stress of the whole Victoria thing, I'm actually surprised you haven't had a nervous breakdown. Bella, I know that I'm not your father, but I also know that these are things you can't really talk about with Charlie. I want you to know that I am hear to listen to you if you need me. You know I love Edward, he is my son. But I can listen with out judgment. I want my son to be happy, but I care about you too. I guess I had already started thinking of you as a daughter."

I just fell forward crying into Carlisle's cold shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me. I didn't know what to say, but the weight of the situation was just too much for me. Carlisle rubbed my back as I cried for several minutes without speaking. Finally, I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself.

"Feel better or worse? Would you like to talk about it? I can assure you that our conversation would be confidential. Edward is not here, I sent Jasper ahead to have him leave."

"I don't know what to talk about Carlisle. I loved Edward but he left. I let myself love Jacob and now I am forced to choose which one to hurt. Neither one of them deserve it, and I don't really feel as if I deserve either of them. It's impossible."

"One of the first things I learned about you, when my family was divided about whether you would maintain our secret, was that you, Bella Swann, are a very strong girl. I later got to know how sweet and warm you are. I would say you are definitely worthy." Carlisle made me blush. He was such a father.

My blush seemed to make him as uncomfortable as it made me. "Well, let's get you down and get you some lunch." He said in a tone that was a little overly cheerful.

Lunch was great. Esme told me all about her newest remodel project, she asked about school and Charlie. Jacob sat beside me stiff, he wasn't comfortable here. I heard what sounded like my truck in the driveway and moments later Emmett bounded through the door. He dropped my keys on the table. "Carlisle thought maybe you'd had enough of being dragged through the woods, so he sent me to pick up your truck. Bella! What happened to my radio?"

I smiled at him sheepishly, "sorry about that." He dropped it without giving me any more grief.

I knew that Jacob wanted to leave, and as much as I wanted to spend more time with the Cullens, I

wanted to give them a break too. I knew that they were keeping Edward away while Jake and I were here. Walking out to the car, Jake took my hand and pulled me toward the passenger seat. I didn't even resist.

Carlisle walked us out to the porch. "Bella, you need some rest. I know the last day has been a lot to absorb, but the next couple of days are going to be worse." I nodded in agreement. "Go home, get as much rest as you can. Make sure you eat and drink. Try not to worry about Victoria too much, we are going to take care of that." He didn't say not to worry about Edward and Jacob, that was the more stressful situation, but if he knew that than he also knew that it would do no good to tell me not to worry.

He looked up to Jacob, "She'll be fine, she has my number in Alice's phone. Don't hesitate to call me." He looked back to me as if to silently add that I could call him "about anything."

Jacob was silent for most of the drive, but I could tell he was lost in thought. "Bella, I'm not stupid. I know he wants you. I just want you to know I want you too. No, I _need_ you Bella."

"Jacob, I need you too." That was true and it was all I could come up with to say. I knew it wasn't reassuring enough for him, but I that was all I had to offer. I tried to change the subject, "so do we have a plan for when Victoria comes?"

He looked at me, his eyes full of doubt, but he went along with the subject change. "Yeah, actually, Jasper seems pretty good with the whole strategy thing, him and Sam figured out where to put everyone. You were the tricky part and I'm still not thrilled with that plan."

"Me, what about me?"

"Well, you have to be protected during the fight in case anyone gets through. We don't want to have you in town or at the reservation because we don't want to expose any other humans. I suggested a cave not far from the meeting spot, up in the mountain a little, so that took care of the where."

"That doesn't seem too complicated."

"That wasn't the complicated part. It's who should guard you that we struggled with. Sam said that I should stay with you, I would be thinking about you while the fight was happening and wouldn't be at my best. Since we all share thoughts, I could even impede the others. Carlisle suggested that _Edward_ stay with you too, for similar reasons. And while me and him might both be distracted in a battle, if we were with you and there were any danger, well, we are the two that would fight the hardest to save you. I don't like it. But it is true and at the end of the day, I want to do whatever has the best chance of keeping you perfect."

"That makes sense, but yes, that will be...complicated." Wow, more time alone with Edward and Jacob. Great. Victoria may kill me without ever getting anywhere near me.

I think I need another subject change... "Does Alice have a better idea of when they are coming?"

"Yes, Victoria has decided they will come tomorrow night. Tomorrow after lunch, we are going to meet at the cave. I'm staying with you again tonight. I guess I'll call dad and see if he can try to keep Charlie over there another night."

His dad was happy to help, he knew about Victoria. I wondered if he knew more than that. Charlie seemed to feel bad for making poor Jake sleep on the couch another night. Poor Jake. I fixed us some chicken for dinner and Jacob devoured it. We curled into each other and watched some action flick. Actually, Jacob watched it, I took the opportunity to think. While there had been nothing but Edward and Jake on my mind, I hadn't had the opportunity to really think anything through. So much had happened.

Did I really want to be with Jacob or did I just cling to him because Edward had disappeared? If so, should I let him go now that Edward was back and wanted me? I would have never given Jacob a chance had Edward not left, but Edward did leave. I was so hurt when Edward didn't want me, so angry when he told me that he did want me, but left me any way. There was a time when I was prepared to give up my mortality to stay with him. A time when I thought I wouldn't be able to breathe without him. Was that the kind of love that I should allow to be dis-railed by misunderstandings and complications. Should I not fight for that love?

Jacob's arm curled around me tighter pulling me even closer to him. My dear, sweet Jacob. Did I feel the same way for him? I thought about that for a long time. Over the last six months, Jacob had became the only sunshine in my dreary days. He had brought laughter back to my voice and smiles back to my lips. He had waited so patiently, content to be my friend when that was all I could offer. He had taken care of me and protected me. He had never denied me any crazy thing I asked for. Yes, I did love him. Jacob's love didn't require me to consider giving up my mortality, but if it did, I would be willing to give it up for him too.

I loved them both. Which one could I live without? That question was the key, as soon as it passed through my mind, it was suddenly clear. I had already learned how to live without one of them, Edward had forced me to. Just the thought of living without Jacob sent my heart into a panic, but the thought of living without Edward, that was an ache that my heart had already grown accustomed to.

"Jacob!" I said a little urgently.

Alarm filled his face immediately, "what's wrong, Bella? What is it?"

"Oh, um no, nothing's wrong. I just, I know you have been worried. I mean about Edward and if I..." Looking into his anxious brown eyes, I knew I had it right, "I just want you to know you don't have to worry. You don't have to worry about Edward."

His face melted. He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead and squeezed me even tighter. "I was never worried, who would choose a cold vampire over a warm wolf?" He said it jokingly but I knew that he was relieved. He brought his face down to kiss me. We sat there exchanging slow, steamy kisses for about twenty minutes until the credits started rolling on the movie.

"Time for bed," his voice suddenly very husky. He led me up the stairs.

WARNING: THE NEXT CHAPTER IS VERY EXPLICIT... SKIP TO CHAPTER 10 (WHEN IT'S UP) IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED, BECAUSE IT IS VERY VERY DETAILED!

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story, I was always kind of disappointed that Jacob never had a chance. Now that I've given him his chance, and she has chosen him, but the battle with Victoria is still to come and anything can happen. Feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

**PARTICULARLY THIS CHAPTER!**

Please do not read if you are underage or easily offended...

**********Bella***********

I was looking in the mirror, pulling my hair back when I felt his warmth on my back. Jacob wrapped his arms around me from behind pulling my back into his chest. One hand rested on my ribcage and the other slid slightly under my shirt. The heat seemed to singe my skin. I raised my hands up and laced them in place behind his head. One of his huge hands moved to cover mine, bending my back into an arch that pushed my breasts out. I feel his body getting harder and pressing into my back. His hot breath panted in my ear. "Bella, I. Need. You." Those word caused an explosion of heat that radiated out from my whole body, but settled deeply in my stomach. The heat became an ache and knowing that Jacob needed me made me need him.

I locked eyes with his mirror image and just nodded my head at him. His lips pressed into my neck, kissing and gently biting. I could have pulled my hands free, but I liked this so I resisted the urge to move them to his body. I threw my head back and let him have me.

My moans and gasps for air encouraged him. His free hand wrapped around my stomach pulling me even more tightly against him, then it slid up between my breasts. He wrapped his long fingers around my neck and turned my face so that he could kiss exactly where he wanted. He softened his grip and brought his fingers to my mouth. I watched in the mirror as he brought one finger up and traced the outline of my lips. I eagerly kissed his finger. He dropped his hand to one breast, gently kneading it, then moving to the other. His thumb and finger gently tugged at my nipple. I groaned even louder. His hand moved frantically from nipple to nipple, knowing exactly how hard to pinch. Causing the most pleasure without crossing the line to pain. His kisses were getting harder, the bites getting a little sharper. I was fairly sure my neck would be marked tomorrow, but there was no way I would stop this.

He grinded his hips into me and I could feel how hard he was. Wetness flooded between my legs. His hand burned me as it glided down my stomach. He reached the top of my jeans. He quickly had the button undone and the zipper down and his hand slid even slower into my panties. His thumb and middle finger parted my lips and his finger pushed in to find my clit. He rubbed against my clit roughly, intensely. He rubbed circles, building his speed until I was panting and begging him not to stop. Then he stopped. He stopped rubbing. He released my hands. I nearly fell to the ground, but he quickly grabbed me and turned me to him. His eyes were nearly black and looked as if they would set me on fire with passion. He leaned back with me laying me on the bed.

This was the point at which things slowed to a tender pace the night before, but tonight he showed no caution. He pushed my shirt up and unsnapped the bra so that he could slide that out of the way too, but he didn't bother removing them from my body. His need was too urgent. His mouth surrounded one of my nipples and he sucked sharply as he pulled my jeans and panties off. He tenderly bit the underside of my breast causing me to call out. He pressed my knees down toward the mattress, causing me spread myself for him. He dropped his face and his tongue quickly picked up where his finger had left me moments ago. He licked and sucked on my clit, pushing me closer and closer to the edge. I knotted my hands in his hair and pushed my hip up into his mouth. I called out his name over and over, more urgently the closer I got to exploding.

He pulled himself away from me long enough to undo his own jeans, and free himself of that restraint, but like my shirt, he only needed them out of the way- not off. His jeans hung around his hips as he fell back toward me.

His lips covered mine and my breath was gone as he pushed himself deep inside me. My whimper was muffled by his kiss, and it pushed him forward. I pressed my lips into his so hard that I tasted blood as the inside of my lip cut against one of my own teeth. He grabbed my wrists and brought them up to the sides of my head. He laced his fingers through mine and held my hands there as he quickened his pace inside me. I closed my eyes and gave myself over to building intensity. Jacob was moving so fast in me.

"Bella, open your eyes. Look at me..." I opened my eyes and Jacob locked eyes with me. "I want you to come, Bella. Come for me." His words pushed me over the edge. I started screaming as the intensity crashed over me, endless waves that seemed to go on forever. I looked up and saw Jacob's face as he exploded inside me. He pulled himself from me and gently fell to the mattress beside me. He kissed my forehead and down my cheek until he found my lips once again. He tenderly sucked at my bottom lip and then kissed. I laid my head down on his shoulder and listened as both our breaths started to even out. His became a slight snore, I looked at his face and saw it free of anxiety and doubt for the first time since- well last night. I finally closed my eyes and gave in to my own fatigue.

As I fell asleep I thought that I might have a better understanding now of how a wolf might mark his territory.

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story! This is not the original scene that I wrote, I am publishing that seperately, so feel free to read that if you are curious and let me know which (if either) you like. Tomorrow is the fight with Victoria's gang, anything can still happen. Feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	10. Chapter 10

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage or easily offended...

**********Bella***********

Warm soft kisses on my neck woke me. The sun was up. I purred into Jacob's arm as I brought my hand up to his cheek. What a nice way to wake up.

"Bella, I am so sorry." His voice sounded a little panicked. My stomach tightened, oh no, what now? "I'm so, so, sorry. Why didn't you stop me? I would have stopped, I didn't realize. God, Bella, I'm so sorry." What was he talking about, what had he done?

Now I was worked up into a panic. "What happened Jake? What's wrong?" I sat up on the bed, and turned to look back at him. That's when I noticed that my neck was a little sore. I turned my eyes back to the mirror over my dresser, oh. That's what's wrong. I tipped my neck up to survey the damage.

"Bella, I got carried away, it will NEVER happen again! Are you okay? God, I can't believe I did that too you." Jake kept sputtering out apologies while I stared at my reflection.

It did look bad, but it really didn't hurt much. I kinda thought there would be some marks but I didn't expect the very nasty looking blue and purple bruise. I stood up and walked over to the mirror. Around the bruise there were red marks. This looked bad, really bad. Were those teeth marks?

I turned back to Jacob, my eyes wide. His were filled with regret and pain. He thought he had hurt me, and though I suppose technically he did a little, I would not have changed it for anything.

"Jacob, it's okay. I'm okay. It looks way worse than it is." His eyes didn't believe me. "Last night was amazing. I bruise easy, it's not your fault."

"Not my fault? Are your serious Bella? I know you don't want me to feel guilty, but that is clearly MY fault! You should have stopped me, Bella. No actually, you shouldn't have needed to." His hand gestured to my neck. His eyes were disgusted, but I knew it wasn't with me.

"I know it looks really bad, Jacob, and I can only imagine how that is making you feel. I didn't stop you because, I didn't _want_ to stop you. I love the way you touch me. I loved the way you touched me last night." He snorted at me. "I did! It was very...exciting." Was that the right word? Exciting? Not strong enough, but I couldn't think of a better way to put it. "God, Jake! I woke up really happy and you are ruining it for me. Last night was amazing and I don't want you to say anything else bad about it."

He didn't believe me, but he stopped spewing apologies at me.

"And if you are telling me THAT will never happen again, let me just tell you now that I will NOT be happy about that!" I turned and stomped into the bathroom. The bathroom light made it look even worse. I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face. There were several sets of teeth marks that I could see now. That made my stomach tighten a little, but not in a bad way.

I heard Jacobs heavy footsteps as he went downstairs. I pulled out some make-up that Alice had given me. It had gone unused until now, but maybe I could cover up the bruise. Maybe if Jake didn't have to look at it, he wouldn't feel so guilty.

I spent twenty minutes dabbing and blending concealer on my neck. It looked a little better, but still pretty bad. In my room, I pull a scarf from around a hook on my door and twisted around my neck a few times. That was much better.

I went downstairs and found Jake rummaging in the refrigerator. He closed the door when he heard me and turned to me. He frowned at my scarf and came over to wrap his arms around me. I guess I had made myself clear, he wasn't trying to apologize anymore, but I could tell that he still wasn't happy that he had left a bruise on me.

"I'll whip us up some bacon and eggs, okay?" I batted my eyes at him and smiled trying to reassure him that everything was fine.

"I'm gonna run outside and check in with the pack." He leaned down and pulled the scarf out of the way enough to kiss the edge of the bruise.

"I'm really fine, Jake. Go check in, I'll have breakfast ready by the time you get back."

Charlie came in while we were eating and helped himself. Thankfully, Jake had thought to throw a pillow and some blankets on the sofa so it actually looked as if he slept there. "Thanks for staying Jake. I know you are ready to get home, but its been nice to be able to stay and help Sue without worrying about Bella being stuck all by herself." I felt a little guilty, I'm sure that Charlie wouldn't be so appreciative if he know exactly how _closely_ Jake had been babysitting me. The smirk on Jacob's face told me that he had thought the same thing but didn't feel guilty about it.

"So what do you kids have planned for the day?"

_Well, _I thought, _there is this huge battle tonight with an angry vampire gang, oh, but don't worry dad, the good vampires and the werewolves will be taking care of it. _I almost laughed out loud as that thought passed through my mind. Thankfully, Jake answered for us, "Well, I thought Bella could use some time out of the house. Maybe go for a hike on the rez."

"That sounds good, I have some office work that I've been ignoring, but I'll pop over later." With that, he went upstairs to shower and get ready for work.

After Jake finished the rest of the bacon and eggs, we made our way out to my truck. He automatically went to open the passenger side for me.

"Why exactly do you think I'm going to let you drive today?" I said in a fake angry tone. "I haven't done anything to justify you taking my keys, not yet anyway, it's still early."

"You're a fainter now." He smirked back at me. "Can't take that kind of chance on the road. Too many innocent people driving around." He kissed the top of my head and I caved. I climbed into the passenger seat. Thankfully, it doesn't really matter who's driving my truck, it can only go but so fast.

Jacob took me to his house so that he could get fresh clothes. I was sitting alone on his couch, flipping through a fishing magazine when Embry and Quil walked in.

"Hey Bella" Embry's voice had a humorous tone. "Have a good night?" Quil blushed and jabbed his elbow at Embry and looked then back to the floor. What was that about? Oh. I think I know. They saw Jacob's thoughts about last night when he was checking in earlier. Oh, oh, this was not good.

"Ignore him, Bella" Quil rolled his eyes. "Part of the wolf thing is that everyone knows way too much about you... You get used to it." I blushed and wondered if there was anyway I would be able to get used to that.

Jake walked out just in time to bail me out either a very uncomfortable silence or an even more uncomfortable conversation. We spent the rest of the morning visiting Sue and then headed to Sam and Emily's for lunch. I could barely eat because I knew after lunch we would be heading off. I'm not sure which was more daunting, the battle or spending the rest of the day with both Jacob and Edward.

The looming fight was starting to worry me though. I knew that both the wolves and the Cullens were capable fighters, I was confident in the abilities to win, but I did worry about casualties. No one else seemed concerned, but there was always the possibility that someone could be hurt, or worse. If even one of my loved ones was hurt because of me, I would never forgive myself. Alice seemed a little concerned that she couldn't see the outcome, she was not used to entering a situation without knowing the outcome, but the wolves seemed to affect her visions. Everyone conceded that it was better to have the wolves fighting with them and flying blind than to go into the fight outnumbered.

I picked at my food and fretted while all the boys stuffed themselves. As we left, Emily handed me a backpack. "Some food to hold you and Jake over, who knows how late you'll be stuck there..." She smiled encouragingly. I liked her.

Sam and the other's ran with us, escorting us to the cave. Edward wasn't there yet. The wolves waited there with us until the Cullens arrived. Jasper and Sam reviewed the strategy from the prior day and everyone started splitting up. After everyone had went dispersed, Edward, Jacob, and I turned to go into the cave. It was going to be a long day.

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story! It's finally the day of the fight, I thought I would be able to wrap this up in a chapter or two, but it's drawing out a little. We have some time to kill before the fight and then wait until Edward sees those bruises on Bella's neck! Should be an interesting day! Hope your'e enjoying it! Feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	11. Chapter 11

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage or easily offended...

**********Bella***********

Sam and the other's ran with us, escorting us to the cave. Edward wasn't there yet. The wolves waited there with us until the Cullens arrived. Jasper and Sam reviewed the strategy from the prior day and everyone started splitting up. After everyone had went dispersed, Edward, Jacob, and I turned to go into the cave. It was going to be a long day.

"It's going to be kind of crowded, so I thought it might be a good idea if we took turns running tight patrols around the cave. That way we don't have to make pleasantries, but both of us are close." Edward seemed as excited about spending time with Jake as Jake was.

Jake just nodded in agreement, but I could see Edward picking through his thoughts. Something he found made his eyes drop in pain. He looked at me briefly before volunteering for the first run, shaking his head as he ran off.

"What were you just thinking?" I spun around to look up to Jacob.

"Nothing, what?"

"Just now, you were thinking something, it hurt him..."

"What do I care? He shouldn't be listening in on my thoughts, but what I was thinking- trying to keep myself calm- is 'she chose me! she chose me!'" My face frowned as I imagined how that must have sounded to Edward. "You did didn't you? That is what you said right?"

Oh no, he misinterpreted my frown! "Yes, Jacob, that is what I said, and I meant it. But that doesn't mean that I want to hurt him more. You may not care about him, but if you care about me, than you have to know that it hurts me to hurt him. I know its a lot to ask, but for me- please just try to watch what your thinking about. Please! For me." I topped my request off by reaching up to kiss him.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll try, but it's hard to just not think about something. Especially when you are tell me not to, that just makes me think about it more." He leaned down to kiss me back, "besides, you are a yummy thing to think about." He smiled and I knew that already he was failing at controlling his thoughts.

We sat at the edge of the cave for about forty-five minutes before Edward reappeared. "Did you want to run for a bit or would you rather I keep going?"

"I actually did want to run for a bit." As soon as he said it, I could see that he didn't want to leave me alone with Edward. Too macho to back down though, he took off into the forest.

Alone with Edward. Should I try to talk to him now, or should I wait until a better time? He made the decision for me. "So '_you chose him' _from what I've heard." I could only nod my head slightly in response. I walked ahead of him into to cave. He followed.

"Bella, it was your decision to make. I can blame no one but myself." He looked too calm. "I must say I'm surprised, though."

"Surprised?"

He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. "I was very determined when I left to leave you to your human life. I'm selfish though, it was too hard for me and I was becoming weak. I fought the urge nearly every moment of every day to come back. I had pretty much accepted the fact that I would, it never occurred to me that you would have moved on so quickly...even so, the other night, well, I just assumed that it was just a distraction. I was angry, but I didn't think... I guess that's rather smug of me, huh?"

"That's not fair, Edward." I turned away from him, not able to look him in the eye. Part of me did feel guilty for moving on. Part of me was angrier at him though, for ever even putting us in this situation. "Jacob was right, if you had come back only hours earlier... I waited and waited and waited for you. I rode on motorcycles and faced off crazy strangers just for the opportunity to enjoy a two second hallucination of you. But you said you didn't want me. I was about to jump off a cliff..." I turned back to see his face was struck with shock. "No, not to... just for the adrenaline rush. Just to see you. Jacob stopped me, I could have killed myself. It made me realize that I had to let go. I had to, Edward."

"I didn't know. I didn't know it would be that bad for you..."

"You didn't think that telling me '_you don't want me' _ would destroy me?" How could he not have known?

"Bella, I didn't think you would believe that so easily."

"I never felt worthy of the attention you gave me. I never felt deserving of your love. I didn't want it to be true, but yes, it was easy to believe."

He looked wounded. "I'm so sorry, Edward" I whispered as tears finally spilled down my cheeks.

He was in front of me instantly, "No, no, oh Bella. You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing. I did this, not you. I'll never forgive myself for putting you through that. I'll never forgive myself for losing you, but it was my fault completely." He wrapped his cold arms around me as I sobbed even harder. "My fault, Bella, my fault. I'm so sorry."

I tried to pull myself together. I pulled myself back from Edward. I wiped my eyes and took a few deep breaths. As I pulled away, the scarf fell away from my neck revealing a bit of the bruise. Edward noticed immediately. His fingers came up to pull the scarf completely out of the way and his eyebrows dropped showing his great concern.

"Bella, what happened?" My eyes nervously shot over his shoulder to Jacob at the edge of the cave. "HE did this?"

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story! Almost fight time and then we will be wrapping this up. Bella has chosen Jake, but the story is not over. Fate might have different plans for our beloved characters. Feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	12. Chapter 12

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage or easily offended...

**********Bella***********

"Bella, what happened?" My eyes shot over his shoulder to Jacob at the edge of the cave. "HE did this?"

"This bruise isn't your business, Edward." He didn't even have the chance to see me blush, his eyes were focused, he was stalking toward Jacob. I tried to grab his arm from behind, but I could have been trying to stop a train for all the good that did.

"You reckless mongrel! I warned you, if you hurt her, I'd kill you." In barely a second, Edward leaped at Jacob. Jacob phased and their bodies collided in a crash that echoed through cave. Jacob's momentum sent them both crashing into the wall. The collision caused pieces of rocks to break free from the ceiling and fall around me.

I screamed at both of them, but neither heard me. They were moving so fast that I couldn't even tell what was going on. They both went sliding across the floor, stopped as Jacob's back collided with the wall. Jacob kicked Edward backward and jumped up to his feet. Jacob charged him, crushing him into the cave wall across from me. The rock crumbled around them. Jacob sank his teeth into Edward's shoulder, Edward growled before throwing Jacob across the cave. It wasn't smart but I knew it may be my only opportunity to stop this- I ran between them.

I put a hand up to each one, my head flying back and forth trying to make eye contact with both of them. Jacob was the first to snap out of his frenzied trance. His large brown eyes softening as he stared at me. Edward was still staring at Jacob, but as Jacob looked at me and his thoughts calmed, so did Edward. "Jacob, please! Outside!" I was pushing him, and thankfully he gave in. I followed him out of the cave, my hand was still shaking.

Edward was right behind me, his eyes were angrier than I had ever seen. "Edward, calm down! He didn't _hurt_ me." His eyes looked up to Jacob, and I can only imagine that he suddenly saw in Jacob's thoughts how it happened.

Edwards eyes were wounded, looking at me. Apologizing. Then they shifted back to Jake. Alarmed.

I heard the faintest sound of a twig snapping under someone's step and the world around me flew. Edward's cold hands had grabbed me and threw me towards the opening of the cave. I slid on my side. I landed on my wrist and it burned under me as I ground it into the dirt beneath me while I slid. My body came to a stop, and I twisted to sit up. I expected Jacob and Edward to be facing off again, but they were standing back to back. Then I saw in the woods, the shadows. We weren't alone.

Victoria stepped out first. The two males on either side of her.

She smiled, looking at me. I was finally within her reach. The two guys stepped forward, ready to fight Edward and Jacob. Jacob wasted no time, leaping at the one on his side. My heart sank. This was it. They were out-numbered. If Edward went after the the other male, than Victoria would get me. Edward must have realized the same thing as he crouched down, then sprang at Victoria. The loudness of it all hurt my ears.

The one male looked as Edward and Victoria knocked each other through the trees. He looked at me, he knew that Victoria wanted me dead, but he didn't know if he should come for me or help her. He made his decision and locked his eyes on me. He started toward me slowly and I scooted backwards, knowing it wouldn't help, but doing it instinctively. I tried to call out for Jacob or Edward, but my voice was gone. I was paralyzed in fear.

I thought my heart might stop as he finally closed the last couple of steps between us. With one cold hand he lifted me by my neck, crushing me between his grip and the rock behind me. My feet were off the ground and I couldn't breath.

"Victoria wanted you for herself, but I'm afraid I can't resist the urge." His red eyes widened in anticipation as his hand pulled me from the rock and closer to his face. I closed my eyes and thought of Charlie. What would they tell him? Jacob and Edward, while I never felt worthy of either man, both loved me and would be hurt. My mother... I opened my eyes. His head turned sharply to the side, his red eyes suddenly filled with fear. The blur that whirled past us broke his grip on me, throwing me in the air against the rocks. As my body fell to the floor, I saw the vampire now on the ground ten feet away. Was that Emmett on top of him?

My eyes closed themselves and my last conscious thought was that my head hurt very badly...

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story! Remember I said: Bella has chosen Jake, but the story is not over. Fate might have different plans for our beloved characters.

I know it's a shorter chapter, but it is action packed. Hope you enjoyed!

Feel free to make suggestions!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	13. Chapter 13

WARNING: Parts of this story contain very explicit sexual content.

Please do not read if you are underage or easily offended...

**********Bella***********

I felt the heat on my hand. Cold hands supported my neck and cradled my face.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"I'm not sure, we're going to have to wait for Carlisle. But she has to be, has to."

I could hear the two most beautiful voices in the world, but only for a moment. Then I was dreaming again. Those red eyes showing up in image after image. I couldn't tell if mintues or hours had passed, but then I heard Carlisle.

"She's pretty bad, we need to take her to the house." Who's pretty bad? Me! I couldn't be pretty bad, I could hear them perfectly. I tried to speak up, tell them that I was okay, but nothing came out. I couldn't really move either. Was I okay?

I felt the coldness as someone lifted me. I heard Carlisle's voice in my ear, "Hang in there Bella, we're going to take care of you." I felt the air move around me as we went flying through the woods. I thought of the first time that Edward ran with me, how it made me sick. I missed Edward. My dreams were filled with images of Edward. The way he glared at me that first day of school, which I thought was kind of funny after I found out why. The determination on his face when he stopped a van from killing me. The protective anger the night that he showed up to save me in the alley. He never seemed to get tired of saving me.

I slept a dreamless sleep then. It could have been seconds, it could have been days. When I woke, I wasn't moving in Carlisle's arms anymore. I was laying on something soft. I heard the beep of what I thought was a heart monitor. I heard several people breathing, but no one spoke for a while. I heard footsteps enter the room.

Carlisle spoke, "Edward, can I see you for a moment?" I heard more footsteps. Then silence for several moments.

A crashing sound as something was smashed? Edward cried out in pain. What was happening? More footsteps, and Carlisle addressed Jacob.

"Jake, I'm really sorry to tell you this, but it's not looking good. Her blood pressure is dropping. The swelling in her head is not going down. We need to make some decisions..."

His husky voice whispered, "what decisions?"

"Well, either we need to call Charlie so that he can say goodbye, or..."

"or what?"

"Or we're going to have to break the treaty. Jacob, she's not going to pull through this on her own. She's not going to survive this as a human." Carlisle's beautiful voice echoed in my head. Could he really be saying this?

"No!" My Jacob sobbed. The heat from his face warmed my stomach. I felt his tears wet my shirt and cling to my skin. I wanted to wrap my arms around him I wanted to cry with him.

"I'll give you a few moments, but we need to decide soon either way. I'm really sorry, Jacob, I know you love her."

My Jacob. My poor Jacob. He didn't move, he just kept crying. My heart ached for him. The beeping sounds turned into an alarm. There were lots of footsteps now, lots of commotion.

"Jacob, we need to make our decision NOW."

I heard Edwards voice, "What are you waiting for, Carlisle? It's going to be too late. Just do it, who cares what the mutt thinks, it's what she would want?"

"Edward, Bella is just as important to Jacob and Charlie as she is to us. I'm hoping that Jacob can tell me what he and Charlie would want... Just give him a moment, son."

Silence.

"Carlisle, what happens then if you do? If you _save _her?"

"Well, the change itself takes a couple days. It will be painful for her, but when it's over, she'll be one of us. She will be the same Bella, but she will also be different. For the first year or two, she'll be driven by her instincts- to survive, to feed. She could talk to her parents on the phone, but she won't be able to _see_ them for a while. We would take her away from Forks, a year or two from now, she could come back." Carlisle paused, "I know that you love her, and I know she loves you. You could come with us, Jacob." Edward snarled at that suggestion.

"No! I won't come with you. Save her, I think Charlie would want that. I think I want that. But I can't be a part of her life as a... as one of you." His hand gripped my hand more tightly. "I love her, but I could _never .._." His warm lips heated my cheeks with two long, tender kisses. "Do what you have to." The warmth left my hand and my cheeks. I heard the door slam.

I missed him instantly. Jacob had become a constant in my life, a fixture that I thought would never sway. I knew that he had just made the most difficult of all decisions, I was glad of his decision, but the pain in my chest swelled as I thought of an eternity without him. How did Alice put it? "Never was a long time when you were immortal..."

There was a time when I was eager to give up my mortality, to be with Edward. I had begged him. But as my fantasy quickly became a reality, I was greatly saddened. I did want survive this, even if not as human, but suddenly my mind seemed to think of all the human things to miss. The taste of my favorite foods. The warmth of another humans skin. The love that my heart felt for Jacob. I mourned the loss of those things.

"Edward, do you want to or do you want me to?"

"I will." His voice was sad, but relieved now that the decision had been made to save me. I felt his cold hands on my arms, he cold lips at my neck. He inhaled deeply. He whispered in my ear, "Bella, your sweet blood has called me for so long. I never wanted to do this, my love. Never. But I will not lose you."

The bite didn't hurt very much, but seconds later the pain that followed was excruciating...

The end!

************Author's note****************

Thanks for reading my story! Remember I said: Bella has chosen Jake, but the story is not over. Fate might have different plans for our beloved characters.

I am so sorry if this isn't what you wanted, but I just couldn't bring myself to go the predictable path!

PLEASE REVIEW!


	14. Chapter 14

**********Jacob***********

It had been three years this month since she left. Three really rough years. When I left the Cullen's that night, I took off. I just ran and ran, going no where in particular but trying desperately to escape such a cruel place that would finally give me my heart's desire and then take it away. For six months I wondered through the wilderness of Canada and the northern United States. I finally came back but I wasn't the same.

I graduated from high school and started working as a mechanic at a shop on the reservation. When I wasn't working, I went home.

Over the last eight months, I had finally started to snap out of it. I was still sad. I still missed my Bella, but I was able to go out with friends and enjoy myself again. I started running patrols again. Since the Cullens left, we rarely came across any vampires, but every so often we did, so Sam still had us run on a nightly basis. Once I found a brown eyed vampire. I didn't kill her, I knew what her eyes meant.

Tomorrow was the twelfth, it would be three years since I had kissed her. Sam had me running patrol tonight, knowing that I needed a break from socialization.

I knew that 'what ifs' were pointless, painful even. They didn't matter. The reality was what it was. It didn't stop me from thinking of all the ways it should have gone differently. If I hadn't attacked so hastily... If Edward and I had been better coordinated... If we hadn't been distracted... If we'd had extra people at the cave... She wouldn't have been hurt. She wouldn't have been taken from me.

I started running harder, trying to clear my head of all the noise when I smelled it. The best distraction ever- vampire. My heart raced as I took off after the scent. After a couple miles, the scent got stronger and I knew I was closing in. Another mile and I could see the blurred image running ahead of me. My heart was beating hard in anticipation and excitement.

I measured the distance between us and when the time was right, I leaped. The blur suddenly changed directions, dashed behind some trees and I went flying past her, crashing into a tree. I jumped up, righting my self, preparing to fight.

"Jacob! Stop! It's me, Stop!" It can't be. The voice sent me into an instant trance. Was I hallucinating?

"Jacob! You have to stop! You have to calm down. I have someone with me! Someone who isn't vampire!" My heart pounded. It was Bella. Who was with her? Not a vampire? What to do? Well of course I couldn't attack Bella, I had to calm down. I took a couple of deep breaths and phased back to human. I pulled on my shorts and stepped through the grouping of trees.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The most beautiful face in the world was now even more dazzling. Her dramatic cheekbones now looked as if they had been carved of stone. She looked like a marble statue of some ancient goddess that had an uncanny resemblance to the girl I once knew.

I had heard about it before. Others had tried to describe it, but as it happened to me, I realized that their words had been largely inadequate. The moon in the sky disappeared. The trees and rocks and bushes in the forest around me disappeared. The ground beneath me disappeared and suddenly it seemed as if there were only one thing, one single beautiful existence that consumed me.

"Jacob? Jacob? Are you ok?" The song of her voice was so beautiful to my ears. Reality started swirling around in my thoughts and reality was worrisome. Did I just imprint on Bella? More importantly, did I just imprint on Bella the vampire? This was not good, what could this mean. Had life not been cruel enough, I had loved and missed her, but now I had to imprint on her? Someone I couldn't have for many serious reasons.

"Jacob! You are freaking me out!" I shook my head to shake all the thoughts away and refocused my eyes at the beautiful statue that was speaking to me.

"Bella." That was all I could force myself to say.

"Jake! I'm so happy to see you, I didn't know if I'd get the chance to see you. I didn't know if you'd want to see me, or if you'd agree to see me. But I had to come..."

I wouldn't have agreed to see her. But now that I stared at her beautiful face, I couldn't remember exactly why. The rustling sound of leaves turned my attention to the side.

"It's okay now, honey, you can come out." Who was she talking to? Oh yeah, she'd said there was someone with her. Someone who wasn't vampire. Who in the world would she be running through the woods with?

"Momma..." The small boy appeared from behind a small tree. He sounded a little scared. He called her Momma? But she couldn't have, it was impossible!

"It's really okay, come here." Bella smiled at the child as she coaxed him toward us. As he stepped into the shadows, my breath was taken. He wasn't pale and marble like Bella, like all vampires. He was tanned, with long, dark curls. It couldn't be, was he adopted? It would certainly be like Bella to adopt.

His face haunted me though, it was familiar. Then my mind flashed to a picture in my house. I was four in the picture, sitting on my dad's lap. It was the same face. EXACTLY the same face. My face.

The boy jumped into Bella's arms and she turned them both towards me. "Jacob, I want you to meet Charlie." She gave me a moment. Her face was scanning mine, looking to see if I had processed everything correctly.

"Is he..."

"Yes, Jacob. He's yours." I knew it before she said it. But her saying it out loud made it true. A truth was released into the air between us and it could never be taken back. "Charlie, meet your daddy." His big brown eyes looked at me with uncertainty and he finally smiled shyly.

"Bella." I couldn't breathe. "How?"

"Well, I think you know 'how' it happened." She batted her eyes at me and I remembered the last night I had spent with her. "But I assume you want to know about the pregnancy. That was a little scary. After you left, Edward bit me. The venom healed me, but apparently didn't affect the baby, though no one knew I was pregnant. I seemed like an ordinary vampire but my stomach grew. A few weeks later, Carlisle finally figured out what was going on. He did his best to monitor the pregnancy, but he had never seen this before. None of us knew what would happen, if the baby would survive. Thankfully, everything went well. After six months, he was born. Everyone was scared when my labor started so prematurely, but Charlie came out weighing almost ten pounds. He's a two and a half now, but you can see he's big. He's about the size of an average five year old. Carlisle thinks that his wolf genes are making him grow fast since he is around vampires so much."

"Bella, I need to sit down." I fell to the ground. I took deep breaths. How could the last three minutes of my life have changed everything for me?

"Oh, Jake. I'm sorry, I should have done this slower." She sat down in front of me. "Are you okay?" She looked worried.

I couldn't think. I had to stop looking at her for a moment. I looked up to the leaves of the trees above us and tried to process this new information. Bella was here. She was a vampire. I had imprinted on her. And I had a kid. My kid. I had a kid! I had a kid with MY Bella. She wasn't mine anymore, I had given her up when I left her with the Cullens three years ago. But if she was bringing my son to meet me then she must be planning for me to be a part of their lives now. This was good. I finally sat up smiling at her.

"I'm a dad!" We sat there silently for a few minutes, smiling at each other, watching little Charlie climb all over his mother.

"Jacob, I'm sorry that everything happened the way it did. I've missed you so much. I've picked up the phone to call you a million times, but I didn't know how to handle this. I had to stay away from Forks for a while, but now that I've settled down, I don't know. I wasn't really thinking it through, I just had to come. I know things with us, I mean, I'm sure you've moved on with your life. That's fine, I don't expect anything from you. But I wanted you to meet him. We can stay away if you don't want..."

"Are you crazy! Of course I want him. It will be hard for me to see you with Edward. Harder than you know. But just to have you in my life at all, and him. He's so perfect Bella."

She looked at me, I could tell she wanted to say something, but didn't seem to know how to put it. "I'm not."

"Not what?"

"Not with Edward."

"But, you left with them. You loved him, I..."

"I did love him. I do love him. And I'm glad he saved me. But he's my brother now. I gave my heart to you, Jacob. That didn't change just because I had to leave for a while."

************Author's note****************

Okay- I had to just give a little more. I wasn't happy with Jacob losing Bella like that.

But this really is it. Nursing school starts in two weeks!

Please review! I've enjoyed writing this, and your reviews are such a highlight for me.


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